The Great Evil of the Religious Lie

Paul Washer on the wickedness of Rome...

An important word on the need of sound Biblical Separation:

Paul Washer - The Religious Lie


Rand

Labels: Biblical Separation, Fundamentalism, Romanism

The Sad Legacies of Compromisers

the error of Jehoshaphat...

Interesting article on FoxNews.com:

Campus Ministry Drops 'Christ' From Name

I especially love these statements:

"We felt like our name was getting in the way of accomplishing our mission." (Wow!)

"Sellers said researchers found that 9 percent of Christians and 20 percent of non-Christians were alienated by the name Campus Crusade for Christ." (I laughed out loud when I read that one... 80% of Christians and 99.9% of non-Christians despise our evangelism)

"We were not trying to eliminate the word Christ from our name." (Thing is, you TOTALLY did!)

Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, was a compromiser who did away with any form of Biblical Separation, and eventually yoked himself and his ministry with Rome. It is fitting that his ministry, built on shaky foundation, is slowly crumbling, spiritually.

Wonder how long before Cru gets its first homosexual teacher/leader, or how long before it recognizes salvation through other names, not solely the Lord Jesus Christ.

Stay tuned.


Rand

Labels: Biblical Separation, Evangelism, Fundamentalism, Romanism, Stupid

The Wicked, the Compromiser and the Fundamentalist (part IV)

my thoughts...

(Click here for Part I of this series)
(Click here for Part II of this series)
(Click here for Part III of this series)

I want to conclude my series on the interaction between Ahab, Jehoshaphat and Micaiah found in 1 Kings 9 and 2 Chronicles 18 with a few personal thoughts.

First, this account is EXTREMELY relevant to our present day situation. The world is full of Ahabs, and the vast majority of Christians are of the Jehoshaphat type. Without a shadow of a doubt. The Micaiahs are few and far between.

You don't buy it? Consider this: how many pastors did George W. Bush have in his corner to "justify" the Iraq war? How many Christian leaders "helped the ungodly" in matters they knew nothing about? From Jerry Falwell to John MacArthur, all went before the television cameras and proclaimed that they, and by extension, God, were with President Bush in his endeavour to defend America and liberate Iraq. All of them made affinity with the President and treated him as one with them; that is, a Christian. You could hardly find one single Micaiah who would state the absolutely truth about the Iraq situation: "I don't know anything about it, Mr. President, I'm not of this world, my citizenship is in Heaven." Still today, even with his evil fruit showing for all to see, it is difficult to find one Micaiah who will challenge the President's claim to be born-again. Unbelievable.

This is but one example out of many that show forth the complete lack of fundamentalism in the church today. By fundamentalism, I don't mean those who call themselves fundamentalists in the U.S.; for by in large, they are traditionalists, not fundamentalists. By fundamentalism, I mean being a Micaiah. Saying: "Thus saith the Lord", plus/minus NOTHING.

By fundamentalism, I mean being "doers of the word, and not hearers only" (James 1:22). "Doers the Word" don't waste time with Hollywood movies, ungodly TV shows, and vain activities.

By fundamentalism, I mean a boldness to "preach the word in season and out of season" (2 Timothy 4:2); and yes, that means you still have to preach when no one wants to hear it (that is, after all, what "out of season" means). And no, you are not fulfilling this charge by debating Calvinism in some internet forum.

By fundamentalism, I mean: "be ye separate" (2 Corinthians 6:17). If someone isn't preaching the Truth, or walking in the Truth... separate! Don't hang out with the wicked or with compromisers because it is a sure bet that before you make them into anything other than a wicked/compromising soul, they will make of you a wicked/compromising soul.

Do you find this too extreme? Too difficult? Consider Jehoshaphat and Micaiah again, and then consider which of these you really want to be. You can never attain unto Micaiah's reward without his manner of life. If you live like Jehoshaphat, you'll wind up with Jehoshaphat-type messes. Guaranteed. You will reap what you sow (Galatians 6:7)

Finally if, after reading this post, you've come to the conclusion that you are definitely NOT a Micaiah, and you want to do something about it... well... get serious! You have the Bible, now just do it! Don't look to the right or to the left, and remember: it isn't only the Ahabs you should be wary of. The Jehoshaphats of the present will cause you nothing but grief, and will be no help to you at all. Jehoshaphats, while ultimately saved by grace, are compromisers and all they will encourage you to do in the end, is compromise.

I'm not saying that any of this is easy, nor am I suggesting that I have attained unto some "Super-Micaiah-Christian" status. It is however my daily aim, and by making it my objective, I often have success in being a true fundamentalist for the Truth. There is a cost associated with this though: loss of Christian friends, family troubles, being seen as an obstinate non-conformist... etc. I have, by God's grace (and on numerous occasions now), paid that price.

Have you?


Rand

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

Labels: Biblical Separation, Fundamentalism, Holiness

The Wicked, the Compromiser and the Fundamentalist (part III)

counting the cost...

(Click here for Part I of this series)
(Click here for Part II of this series)

Every action has its consequences; whether they be good or evil. In this post, we will have a look to see what the consequences of Ahab's (the wicked), Jehoshaphat's (the compromiser), and Micaiah's (the fundamentalist) actions were. I will probably hold off on making some final comments or sharing some final thoughts on this series until part IV. For now then, consider what:

-Ahab reaped:

First off, Ahab died. He died at the hands of the Syrian army in Ramoth-gilead; exactly as the prophet Micaiah had foretold. Despite all his scheming and his great skills as a warrior, Ahab was slained by an arrow, fired totally at random:

"And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: therefore he said to his chariot man, Turn thine hand, that thou mayest carry me out of the host; for I am wounded." (2 Chronicles 18:33)

Ahab, the wicked, lived a life of rebellion against God; a life totally devoted to sin. He therefore collected the wages of sin, which is death; both physical, and spiritual (Romans 6:23). Sadly, it didn't end there. Ahab's wife, Jezebel, also met a brutal death:

"And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master? And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs. And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trode her under foot." (2 Kings 9:31-33)

Yep, the wicked woman was thrown out of a window and trampled under foot, and we are told a little further that the prophecy of Elijah came true about her: wild dogs ate her body. Not a pretty picture.

Now, if you are wondering who Jehu is, in the above passage, let me explain. You see, the curse God put on Ahab for all his wickedness didn't affect only him and his idolatrous wife, it affected his son. Ahab's son, Joram, lost the Northern Kingdom of Israel to a man God had chosen to destroy the entire house of Abab, Jehu. Not only did Joram lose his kingdom, he lost his life:

"And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength, and smote Jehoram between his arms, and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot." (2 Kings 9:24)

Death, loss and destruction. That about sums up the consequences of Ahab's way of life.


-Jehoshaphat reaped:

The compromising believer who refused to heed to the prophecy of a faithful prophet, and allied himself with the wicked wretch Ahab, was bailed out of trouble on numerous occasions, but his losses were GREAT. Consider this foolishness Jehoshaphat got himself into:

"And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and will go to the battle; but put thou on thy robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went to the battle. Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots that were with him, saying, Fight ye not with small or great, save only with the king of Israel. And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they compassed about him to fight: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him; and God moved them to depart from him." (2 Chronicles 18:29-31)

Don't ask me how a man can be so foolish... but all this happened. King Jehoshaphat probably lost a lot of his soldiers in this doomed campaign. You'd think he would have learned his lesson, especially when we consider that he got a serious scolding from a prophet of the Lord upon his return to Jerusalem, but no, the Bible records that Jehoshaphat really hadn't learned anything. Ahab wasn't long dead that Jehoshaphat formed an alliance with the new king of the Northern Kingdom, Ahaziah:

"And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly: And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Eziongeber. Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish." (2 Chronicles 20:35-37)

Losing these ships probably hurt king Jehoshaphat in capital, since Tarshish was very far away (large, expensive ships were probably built and subsequently destroyed by the Lord). So, because of Jehoshaphat's compromises with the wicked, he was responsible for loss of life in Ramoth-gilead, and the loss of money in Ezion-geber.

It doesn't end there.

Remember how Jehoshaphat and Ahab got together? Jehoshaphat's son, Jehoram married one of Ahab's daughters. You want to venture a guess what kind of man Jehoram became?

"Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself, and slew all his brethren with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel... And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, like as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife: and he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD... Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, and compelled Judah thereto." (2 Chronicles 21:4, 6, 11)

And for all his evil, the Lord plagued Jehoram. Two years he suffered of an incurable bowel disease, and then he died.

Not exactly a great legacy for king Jehoshaphat. Compromise costs. It costs big.


-Micaiah reaped:

Other than his incarceration in Ahab's dungeon in Samaria, we know nothing of Micahiah's earthly fate. There is a good chance Micaiah never got out of the dungeon; king Ahab ordered that Micaiah be kept in jail until his safe return (something that never happened).

Now let's suppose Micaiah spent the rest of his days in a Samaritan dungeon. Day-in and day-out, eating the bread of affliction and the water of affliction (2 Chronicles 18:26).

Not much fun.

Then consider what Micaiah saw right after he had breathed his last! What do you think the righteous Lord of the Earth, "who will render to every man according to his deeds" (Romans 2:6), had in store for Micaiah? Do you think Micaiah, when entering in the presence of his God, had any regrets about his fundamental conversation on the Earth?

I don't think so!


As you can see, none of our three characters had an easy time, but only one of the souls suffered for righteousness sake. Stay tuned for part IV of this series, for a few final thoughts...

Rand

Labels: Biblical Separation, Fundamentalism, Holiness

The Wicked, the Compromiser and the Fundamentalist (part II)

watch out for life's Ahabs...

As mentioned in the first post of this series, king Ahab of Israel knew he didn't have a chance to vanquish the southern kingdom of Judah, so instead of picking a fight with king Jehoshaphat, Ahab became Jehoshaphat's buddy. The two kings, despite their differences in matters of faith, became such good friends, they allied themselves together through the marriage of Jehoshaphat's son and Ahab's daughter. Look at this folly:

"Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance, and joined affinity with Ahab. And after certain years he went down to Ahab to Samaria. And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the people: that he had with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramothgilead. And Ahab king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Wilt thou go with me to Ramothgilead? And he answered him, I am as thou art, and my people as thy people; and we will be with thee in the war." (2 Chronicles 18:2-3)

You know what I think of whenever I read the above Text? I think of the countless e-mails and comments I have received from Romanists. "We are brothers," they claim, and yet, just like Ahab, they are as black as sin itself. "We'll war together against abortion, the homosexual agenda, and other social policies," they say, all the while worshiping before wood and stone.

So foolish Jehoshaphat who had been so wise in guarding his kingdom against the idolaters to the North in the beginning, had now let the king of the North in by the back door. He was now having feasts with the most ungodly king in Israel's history, and making plans to go on military campaigns with him. Foolish indeed, but remember, Jehoshaphat was a saved man (as we saw in part I of this series). Being one of God's saints, Jehoshaphat asked Ahab to inquire of the Lord through prophets in order to see if God wanted the men to go to war together against the Syrians in Ramoth-gilead. A practice that was "a must" amongst all godly kings in Judah. Ahab happily indulged:

"Therefore the king of Israel gathered together of prophets four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall we go to Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for God will deliver it into the king's hand." (2 Chronicles 18:5)

Now Jehoshaphat was compromising and was being a "Class A" fool by aligning himself with wicked Ahab, but he wasn't down right stupid. It was clear to Jehoshaphat that Ahab was presenting him with four hundred "yes men", not prophets of the Lord. That's why Jehoshaphat in the following verse asked Ahab if there was "another prophet" they could inquire of. Ahab reluctantly mentioned the name of a prophet who "never prophesied good of him", a prophet called Micaiah (a prophet not prophesying good of an evil king... sounds promising doesn't it?).

Enter Micaiah. After being warned by Ahab's minions not to prophecy evil of the king, for such a prophecy would surely bring sharp condemnation, Micaiah stands before Ahab and Jehoshaphat and tells them EXACTLY what Ahab wanted to hear. He said:

"Go ye up, and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand." (2 Chronicles 18:14b)

Now it was Ahab's turn to prove that while he was an exceeding evil man, he wasn't down right stupid either. Ahab knew that this prophecy was just to good to be true, especially considering the source. That's why Ahab in the following verse charges Micaiah to stop fooling around a tell the truth. So Micaiah gave him the truth:

"Then he said, I did see all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master; let them return therefore every man to his house in peace." (2 Chronicles 18:16)

Micaiah even went further. Telling both kings that the Lord had sent a lying spirit, a demon no doubt, to entice Ahab into going into battle against the Syrians. A battle that would go very badly for Israel and would lead to the death of king Ahab. Ahab, of course, didn't like this revised prophecy, and right before king Jehoshaphat eyes, Micaiah's brother-in-the-Lord, had Micaiah sent to the dungeon; and there he would stay until Ahab's supposed return.

So just to be clear, let's recap Jehoshaphat's less than stellar decisions in our Text:

-he arranged a marriage between his son and Ahab's daughter, effectively bringing both families together.
-he visited wicked king Ahab to have feasts with him.
-he disregarded the prophecy of the Lord, warning of the folly of attacking the Syrians.
-he watched a fellow brother-in-the-Lord be persecuted and thrown in prison, and the Scriptures do not record him doing anything about it!

In part III, will study the consequences of Ahab's, Jehoshaphat's and Micaiah's actions... see you then...


Rand

Labels: Biblical Separation, Fundamentalism, Holiness

The Wicked, the Compromiser and the Fundamentalist (Part I)

considerations from 2 Chronicles...

(To get the most out of this post, it will be necessary for you to read 2 Chronicles chapter 17 to chapter 21 and verse 7)

In a series of sermons on the topic of the revivals in the kingdom of Judah, my pastor shared with us this most relevant teaching from the book of 2 Chronicles. The account under review involves, primarily, three men: Ahab (king of Israel), Jehoshaphat (king of Judah), and Micaiah (prophet of the Lord). Now while Judah is a tribe of Israel, the complete kingdom of Israel was split due to a civil war which had taken place roughly 50 years prior to the action of our Text. Judah and Benjamin, two of the twelve tribes of Israel formed a kingdom to the South, while the other ten tribes formed another kingdom to the North.

The Lord was, without a doubt, with the Southern kingdom; the Lord gave Judah several godly kings which led the nation towards God. The Northern kingdom didn't get one, single godly king; all of them were wicked wretches which led the 10 tribes into the ways of the heathen, that is, to idolatry. In the portion of Scripture we are currently studying, we have this fact presented clearly. Consider king Ahab of Israel and king Jehoshaphat of Judah:

"And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him. And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him. And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him." (1 Kings 16:30-33)

"And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim; But sought to the LORD God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel. Therefore the LORD stablished the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had riches and honour in abundance." (2 Chronicles 17:3-5)

Naturally, king Jehoshaphat was leery of evil king Ahab. After years of civil war between the North and the South, Jehoshaphat knew better than to trust Ahab. He knew that if Ahab had the chance, he would surely attempt to conquer Judah in order to set himself as king over all twelve tribes of Israel. That's why Jehoshaphat wisely prepared Judah against Ahab, by directing the priests, the soldiers, and building up defences:

"And they (priests and Levites) taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the LORD with them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people. And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat... And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly; and he built in Judah castles, and cities of store. And he had much business in the cities of Judah: and the men of war, mighty men of valour, were in Jerusalem... These waited on the king, beside those whom the king put in the fenced cities throughout all Judah." (2 Chronicles 17:9-10, 12-13, and 19)

Without a doubt, when Ahab and his armies looked down at the kingdom of Judah, the temptation to go up for a fight wasn't too strong. You think Iraq today is a quagmire? Attacking Judah in those days would have been a disaster! Jehoshaphat had done his job right. By submitting himself to God and His commandments, the Lord gave him wisdom and protection from all his enemies.

All was well in godly Judah, but evil Ahab wasn't the type to give up so easily. The man was thoroughly evil, but he was no idiot. He knew that there was no way to beat Jehoshaphat militarily, so Ahab went by the back door. Ahab here is a perfect type of the devil himself. If the devil can't beat a saint one way, you can rest assured he will try to beat him another way.

Ahab wasn't going to destroy Judah by the sword; rather, he would destroy it with handshake...

(To be continued)


Rand

Labels: Biblical Separation, Fundamentalism, Holiness

Why I Have Nothing To Do With Ecumenical Efforts

blame it on holiness...

Context: I received this e-mail a few days ago:

Labels: Biblical Separation, Fundamentalism, Holiness

A Plea for Fundamentalism

how serious are you about The Faith?

Fundamentalism: A usually religious movement or point of view characterized by a return to fundamental principles, by rigid adherence to those principles, and often by intolerance of other views and opposition to secularism.

This definition, taken from the "American Heritage Dictionary", draws a pretty clear picture; and for most, the picture isn't too attractive. The first thing people today think about when they hear "fundamentalism" is usually "Islamic fundamentalism" and the terrorism associated with it; which explains the stigma associated with fundamentalism. Unfortunately, in this particular case, the problem isn't with fundamentalism, but rather with Islam. You see the thing about fundamentalism is that the fundamentalist is either "fundamentally right", or "fundamentally wrong". If a person errs in the fundamentals (like in the case of Islam), everything that is based on that foundation will be wrong.

Now as born-again Christians, we have THE TRUTH, the Word of the Living God: the Bible. That is our foundation, our "fundamentals". The Lord Jesus Christ even made it unbelievably easy for us by summarizing the fundamentals of the Christian faith in two simple commandments:

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." (Matthew 22: 37-39)

No room for "jihad", suicide bombings, or plane hijackings here. These are the fundamentals of the Christian fundamentalist; he loves God with everything he's got, and he loves and cares for his neighbour as himself.

Now the question is: are you a Christian fundamentalist? Is it the God of the Bible + nothing for you? Do you make it a point, in your life, to glorify God in all you do and all you say? Do you love your neighbour as yourself? Do you love him enough to be a witness to him? To be there when he needs a helping hand?

The fact of the matter is most Christians today (and this is a personal observation), aren't fundamentalists. They're not even close.

Oh! they love God enough to go to the Lord's Day morning service, but you'll never see them darken the door posts of the church for the evening service or the mid-week prayer meeting/bible study. They love God enough to stay away from pornography and drugs, but they see no problem with watching R-rated movies (for violence, nudity, coarse language...etc), and giving up the "pubs" with the buddies is completely out of the question (even if one doesn't drink to the point of drunkenness, "bars" and "pubs" are no place for God's children).

And as far as "loving their neighbours" is concerned, they'll be there for them in times of trouble, to give a helping hand, but for the most part, it's the "don't bug me, I won't bug you" attitude. Many Christians don't even bother sharing the gospel with their neighbours for fear of ridicule or persecution (this is probably the biggest lack of caring and love...Withholding the gospel that could save them).

Most Christians know for a fact that the church was in much better shape 50-60 years ago, and that is why so many want the old days again. The problem is, they want the "old days", but they don't want the "old ways". Wasn't so long ago that a Christian didn't watch Hollywood's filth at the cinemas; wasn't too long ago, the Christian influence in the US was so strong, they actually outlawed alcohol and the bars/pubs that supplied the drunkards; wasn't too long ago that Christians didn't shop or do business on the Lord's Day, they'd rather keep the day holy unto the Lord. These are but a few examples of the differences in attitude between the Christian in the days when the church was strong, and the "modern" day Christian.

So, I ask again: are you a fundamentalist?

Labels: Biblical Separation, Fundamentalism, Holiness